


Trials and Tribulations

by Angelistoftenshi



Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: Implied Ibuki/Chrono, Implied Mamoru/Chrono, Implied/Referenced Underage Relationship(s), M/M, Other characters mentioned - Freeform, idk what i'm doing here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-09-28 15:46:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10130018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelistoftenshi/pseuds/Angelistoftenshi
Summary: Kouji Ibuki and Mamoru Anjou are playing a game. Surprisingly, it’s not actually vanguard.“Of all the skills that Mamoru ever thought he’d learn, knowing how to understand “douchebag” was not one of them.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was pretty much my first fic, in a sense. I wrote it 2 years ago as a gift to my bestie Totoro, way back when Ibuki's true nature was still an enigma that everyone was pulling their hairs out to figure out, so he's a little too OOC for my tastes but eh. This was also when I actually shipped Chrono with everyone, but that's changed a lot by now. XD I wouldn't publish it but... Ibumamo rules my life and I can't hide it.
> 
> Mamoru/Kamui is still a good ship tho.

It is just a little before sunset, after a rather rigid and far too formal meeting with what should have simply been colleagues from the United Sanctuary branch that Mamoru Anjou finds himself (subtly) inviting Kouji Ibuki for a (hopefully private) talk in his office. So far, no one seemed to care about why he wanted to speak with Ibuki since no one paid him any attention. In fact, Mamoru already thought that he was off to a great start… Except for the fact that Ibuki didn’t move a single inch after everyone started leaving, as if absolutely no words had been said.

The only reason Mamoru even knows he accepted the invitation was because he didn’t object.

Once the last person closed the door, and Mamoru and Ibuki were the last people in the room, Ibuki’s previously rested eyes opened and stared at Mamoru expectantly, with that pretty scary glare that he spent the entire meeting with, and also 80% of the time Mamoru ever sees his face. The intensity might have given Mamoru telepathy, because he could _swear_ he was hearing the _“Well? What do you want?”_

Mamoru’s eyes blinked, and he realized that oh. Ibuki will just have the conversation here. Okay then that was an easily fixable problem that Mamoru didn’t think was an issue. Or maybe Ibuki just didn’t feel like getting up from his chair, as he looked pretty comfortable in it. Although to be quite frank, now that Mamoru thinks about it, he’s never seen Ibuki look uncomfortable, not even that one time the Branch Chief invited a whole bunch of people to his spring party. At the time, Ibuki had still been fairly new to the whole socializing and business thing, and the branch chief wanted him to “loosen up and become more acquainted with everyone”. The event had been a strange one (stranger than the Branch Chief usually did, anyway) because everyone had to sit on the grass due of a rather odd lack of chairs (Mamoru worries that maybe the Chief lost them all). Unsurprisingly, there had also been a lack of one Youchirou Kanzaki, although Mamoru knew more than to question that particular absence.

In the end, Ibuki spoke maybe 10 sentences in the entire party, but even though he was uncharacteristically quiet, Mamoru still thought that Ibuki looked rather relaxed, even though he was dirtying his clothes sitting on the grass. He looked like he was more sunbathing or feeling the wind then attending a party, which probably should have made Mamoru wonder what was wrong with him, but instead he settled for keeping his eyes glued to him during most of the event.

Mamoru’s eyes blinked again after coming back to the present, revealing that he was staring at Ibuki the whole time he spent thinking about how relaxed and comfortable he looked. Ibuki seemed to have patiently waited for him to start the conversation (Because why bother when Mamoru was the one that invited Ibuki right? Ah..haha.) but not even his ever glaring eyes could hide the amusement behind his gaze, or the rather miniscule twitch at the corner of his mouth. So. He knew about Mamoru’s habit of staring at him. Okay then.

With an embarrassed cough, he sits down in front of Ibuki, trying to meet his eyes (for staring at Ibuki head on is one of the best way to get his attention) but in the end simply settling for the middle of the table before he begins with what he hopes is an 100% shame-free “So what have you been up to?”

It isn’t even 3 seconds after he says it that he realizes what a dumb mistake that was. Or maybe not a mistake, just an incredibly embarrassing misplay. It was like riding a perfect guard when you had an 8k vanilla on hand. _Pull it together Mamoru!_

To make matters worse, his face after he realizes that is apparently hilarious, for Ibuki is so amused that he settles to humor his amazingly pathetic attempt at small-talk. Mamoru swears he rehearsed this, recited it in the bathroom mirror and everything.

“Not really much of anything, at least nothing you shouldn’t already be familiar with regarding this time of the year,” Ibuki says with a sort of sneering tone that implies a much bigger twitch on the corner of his mouth. Looking up, Mamoru can now absolutely confirm that Kouji Ibuki is smirking at him. He might start laughing any minute. “Although we have also been thinking of setting up another mini-tournament before the big day, since the last one didn’t turn out as we’d hoped.”

There were like 4 layers of sarcasm embedded in that sentence, and Mamoru isn’t sure either how Ibuki managed to convey his un-amusement or how Mamoru was able to notice it. On one layer, Ibuki is oddly helping Mamoru by giving him a topic to talk about, albeit one that isn’t really pleasant for either of them. On another layer, Mamoru was 87% sure that Ibuki just accused him of something. Of what, he isn’t sure, but maybe it has to do with the recent event where Mamoru unceremoniously practically gave away points to help the person that made the tournament in question not turn out so well. Mamoru kind of hoped Ibuki wasn’t aware of that activity yet, for he was sure that they’d start the passive-aggressive dance if he did, and without a vanguard fight to make sure Ibuki’s mind was elsewhere, he was really bad at getting the passive-aggressive dance in his favor (usually when he was staring at Ibuki’s eyes).

Unfortunately Mamoru is naturally competitive, and Ibuki’s tone basically asked for a battle. Normally he wouldn’t rise to the bait, since the times Ibuki usually baits him they are in a vanguard battle. Unfortunately, this is not one of those times, and before he could stop himself he blathered, “Hopefully this time no one feels pressured enough to start cheating again.”

Mentally, he facepalmed. He pretty much just attacked recklessly, didn’t he? He did. Like attacking with your vanguard first, without taking any stand triggers into account. This one can’t even be called passive-aggressive; Mamoru didn’t even _try_ to not make it sound like an accusation.

As it turns out, the forwardness of Mamoru’s statement caught Ibuki by surprise. Like Mamoru himself thought, he probably assumed that the two of them would have subtle but sly remarks directed at one another before getting out the big guns, where they would have a less subtle battle of accusations (as most of their conversations tend to go). The only difference was that Mamoru was _planning_ to end the inevitable battle with a peaceful end. Like a handshake, or a hug. A kiss maybe. His real image of a non-peaceful end was less innocent (one that Mamoru is NOT going to get distracted by thinking about now), but clearly now the plans have changed.

See, none of this would be an issue if Ibuki and him had just talked at his office. If they had, they would most definitely be in the middle of a vanguard fight right now, as Mamoru had prepared a mat and everything right there in his desk.

The thing about Ibuki is, the best way to deal with him is when fighting. If you and Ibuki are in the middle of a fight, you have his _complete attention_. Absolutely nothing you say will go on unnoticed, and thus you run absolutely no chances of being ignored. You also have the advantage of being in the middle of something, which means that even though his attention is entirely on you, what he focuses _on_ is mostly what you’re going to play next and what cards you have in your hand, with the occasional judgement of your abilities (which Mamoru has found range between Incredibly Shitty and Better Than Expected).

Mamoru and Ibuki are not in the middle of a fight. They are talking face to face with no units between them, which means that Mamoru has to consciously make sure Ibuki doesn’t yawn and walk away to do whatever it is he does when he’s not terrorizing his staff members. But obviously, there’s a price to having Ibuki’s attention without vanguard as an intermediary, and that price involves having absolutely no idea what he’s thinking about at all.

However, Ibuki seems to have taken the outburst as a sort of sign, for his initial shock is slowly being replaced by a sort of interest that Mamoru has never seen on his eyes before.

Mamoru isn’t even ashamed to admit that he really likes that look directed at him.

As the shock wears down and his slightly widened eyes (what a beautiful color they are, _hot damn_. Mamoru could, and would, stare at them all day) return to normal, Ibuki’s “interested” expression darkens. His previous smirk widens and his eyes narrow. It looked… dangerous, but not necessarily unapproachable... like needles, maybe. It’s possibly the lamest metaphor he could come up with, but even so part of Mamoru is telling him that he messed up, he doesn’t know how to deal with this kind of reaction (it had never happened to him before in his _life_ ). This situation has gone beyond predictability, and in fact he should do some strategic retreat before he strains his almost-kinda-relationship-with-Ibuki-that-hasn’t-become-yet. The other part however, the stubborn competitive idiot, is more than willing to respond to such an expression. If anything, seeing Ibuki’s reaction to his outburst seemed to awaken something else in Mamoru. I can do better than that. Come on, throw it at me.

“Unfortunately, my staff members can’t read minds, but I’ll make sure that this time we’ll take better precautions to avoid that kind of circumstance again.” If Mamoru didn’t know any better he’d think that Ibuki was _honestly disappointed_ at the prospect of ordinary staff members that didn’t have any psychic powers. He would also think that he hadn’t imagined his resigned tone, because surely the idea of Kouji Ibuki getting excited about supernatural beings surrounding him was preposterous and ridiculous, right? Right.

“ … So you can’t guarantee that no one is going to cheat again.” He really tried to not make it sound so deadpan and sarcastic, really. He still had an image to uphold after all. But what the _fuck_. If there was one thing Mamoru expected, it was for Ibuki to at least be as offended at the prospect of cheaters as Mamoru himself was, and his statement only made last tournament’s situation sound like an _inconvenience_ at most.

What the actual _fuck_.

Ibuki seemed to sense his hostility, for he straightened up and hardened his expression. “I can’t guarantee that any children won’t cheat, no.” Okay. _That_ sounded better, since it was clear there was no amusement or, god forbid, affection in his tone. Mamoru’s still mad though. “What a person chooses to do out of their own volition isn't exactly my concern, my only job is to let them know I won’t stand for them doing it.”

That… still doesn't sound reassuring. At all. Most of the patronage of the regional tournament is coming from the United Sanctuary Branch and vague crush on Ibuki or not, Mamoru needs to make sure that they’re not leaving such an important event in the hands of people that don’t even care about making sure their players fight with an ounce of dignity.

“So you’d be more comfortable punishing people after they’ve done the deed, instead of teaching them not to do it in the first place?”

At this comment, Ibuki slowly stands up but mostly just stands there glaring at Mamoru, which jolted a bit of panic into him.  He doesn’t, _doesn’t,_ want to make an enemy out of Ibuki Kouji. Not just because Mamoru dreams about him sometimes, although yeah. He really wouldn’t want to be enemies with the guy he’d really like to kiss. But also because he’s heard about what happens to people who make an enemy out of Ibuki. Usually from United Sanctuary staff members that have unfortunately not spent an embarrassing amount of time studying Ibuki’s mannerism like Mamoru does, and thus end up on the wrong side of his temper (or at least Mamoru thinks it’s his temper) without meaning to.

… Also Kamui let it slip that Ibuki sent him to a hospital once. Unfortunately, Kamui is an amazing actor, and an even better master at the art of covering up his tracks. Getting the real unfiltered story out of him is still a work in progress, and quite frankly Mamoru is starting to think that he’s never going to get it. It wouldn’t have been so frustrating if it wasn’t _obvious_ that Kamui didn’t actually give a shit if Mamoru knew or not, he was just holding out the information because he knows how obsessed Mamoru can get regarding knowing what the heck is going on with Ibuki.

God, Kamui. Sometimes Mamoru wonders what he ever saw in him.

“Do you mean involving ourselves in the benign activities your Branch organizes?” At some point, Ibuki started walking towards him, which Mamoru finds to be ridiculously unfair. He’s honestly truly mad right now, he shouldn’t be getting distracted by the smooth way Ibuki carries himself as he walks. “Most of the time, those activities don’t even have much in common with vanguard, I don’t see how you’re teaching them anything in the first place.”

By the end of that sentence Mamoru managed to collect himself, also successfully managing to not be so affected by Ibuki’s close proximity. Or. Well. At the very least, he successfully managed to look like he wasn’t nervous by the surprising proximity.

“Having fun and connecting with people _is_ the point of vanguard. If you only get people to think about winning their battles, no one will enjoy it as a game.”

In a way (an odd, sad way) it was kind of great that this was the topic they were talking about, actually. Mamoru loves, more than most things, to defend why does the things he does. All the activities that the Branch Chief comes up with, all their reasons for doing them. Mamoru loves them. He can spend hours upon hours explaining why he doesn’t spend depressing amounts of time getting people to sit down for hours to read card skills and think about strategies. And usually that amounts to the fact that people can fight anyone whenever. Hell, Mamoru can have a fight with Ibuki _right now_ (or he would, if he didn’t think it was a massively inappropriate time), especially with all the features they’ve been adding to the FICAs recently. Why spend money on tournaments when you can get people to enjoy the _spirit_ of vanguard through more physical activities? Playing the game is fun, of course, but so is falling into a mud pit. Get a grip, United Sanctuary.

Ibuki narrows his eyes at his admittedly embarrassing excitement about defending his job. Mamoru stands his ground though, because he’ll be damned if he ever becomes ashamed of being _totally awesome_ in the ways of spreading vanguard in a healthy and bright manner.

“That kind of thinking also gets these situations to happen, to think of it only as a game leads to irresponsibility and a lack of respect.” Back to getting close, it seems. Mamoru is seriously debating stepping back, but he’s not sure if that action would please Ibuki, disappoint him, or anger him. In the end Mamoru doesn’t really get a choice, because Ibuki stops at about a one inch distance between their chests. Which. Yeah. It’s really, really close. Mamoru would think that Ibuki was probably flirting with him, if it wasn’t because his eyes were screaming murder, “goofing around and enjoying one’s happiness with friends has its place, but it is because of not enough discipline that your members can’t stand up for themselves.”

You don’t need to be a genius in the subject of conversationalism to know that he’s implying something there. Specifically, he’s implying something about someone. Mamoru already has a suspicion, but you have to make Ibuki be straight up with you. If you just let things be, Ibuki will just continue to evade telling you anything worthwhile, and then you’ll spend most of your time wondering if you actually got his message or if you completely misunderstood him (and good luck getting an answer then). Alternatively, you could put up with him being blunt with you. But it is the general consensus that everyone prefers Ibuki being vague an annoying than blunt and unapologetic.

“…. What are you talking about?”

“What happened recently is, in a way, Chrono Shindou’s own fault for not standing up for himself.”

At _that,_ Mamoru steps back. Having Ibuki’s face so near was nice, but Mamoru felt like that comment was a little _too_ blunt for his liking, even if Ibuki’s done worse. He’s not sure if it would have been better or worse if Ibuki hadn’t actually mentioned Chrono by name, but the tone still leaves a sour taste in his mouth. What the hell, Kouji? How _dare_ you?

Something like a glint appears in Ibuki’s eyes, as if he just realized something. It appears that Mamoru’s glare (he didn’t mean to glare, but he can’t help it) seemed to bring back Ibuki’s amusement, since he no longer looks like he’s ready push Mamoru out the window. On the contrary, the jerk has the guts to _smirk_ , head on without holding back at all, as if this was the most exciting thing he’s seen all day.

So like. _What_. He likes it when Mamoru’s angry, is that it?

Well, good, because Mamoru is definitely angry. He’s not really sure himself where the source of his displeasure comes from, especially since not even the previous topic of cheating had caused such a reaction, but hey if Ibuki’s getting some fun out of this he’s not going to try and calm himself down now.

The glare must have sent Ibuki the message that Mamoru was expecting more, or maybe it got old and Ibuki decided he was bored playing a staring contest. Whatever. It should be obvious by now that Mamoru is not in the right state of mind to be wondering what’s going on inside that head. The point is, Ibuki actually goes back and sits down, and with a sigh (as if, what? Mamoru getting defensive over his… sister’s teammate… was a stupid thing to do?) finally gets to explaining himself.

“I interrogated the team Trick Trick myself.” It was amazing, actually. What a complete 180 in mood that line was. Even though he sat down, Ibuki had still been smirking during the entire ordeal, so there hadn’t been any doubt that he still liked whatever was going on with Mamoru’s current mood. But the moment he had to say _Trick Trick_ his face became so obviously disgusted and mocking. As if the name “Trick Trick” was the stupidest team name he had ever heard of, and he was disappointed in humanity in general for making a name like that possible to pronounce, for the team itself for thinking it, and for his own staff members for not finding that a _tad_ bit suspicious.

Mamoru is inclined to agree.

Of course, agreement didn’t mean that Mamoru was back to passivity. Because _for some reason_ Ibuki thought that that statement explained everything. _Ugh_.

“… So? What did they tell you?” Mamoru was _really_ not in the mood for this. Why does Ibuki have to make things so hard for people? Why can’t he just _come out and say it_. He certainly doesn’t have a problem telling people how shitty they are on a daily basis, and this is obviously important, or he wouldn’t have brought it up at all. For someone who sure hates the prospect of treating Vanguard as a game, he sure seems to treat everything else like one.

Maybe that’s it, isn’t it. Whatever is going on here is just this big long game that Ibuki is playing. Whether Mamoru is a player or a game piece remains to be seen, but Mamoru intends to be a player.

Despite his clear and obvious impatience, Ibuki is back to smirking. Mamoru’s starting to realize that it’s not going to go away, and that he better get used to it if Mamoru insists on being pissed off. It’s not really a problem though, an amused Ibuki is, while annoying when you’re currently in a bad mood, still pleasing to the eyes. And he does eventually start talking. _Eventually._

“Easily enough, the leader admitted to me that Chrono Shindou did not, in fact, involve any forceful physical contact in their confrontation.”

Several things hit Mamoru at once after this revelation. The first, is the image of how exactly this “interrogation” went down. Obviously it went exactly as Ibuki had wanted, since he talks as if it took him 5 minutes to get anything out of them, maybe less. Mamoru likes to believe that Ibuki probably didn’t do anything during the entire ordeal, and that merely staring at them (which, obviously, translated to that glare that looked like he was going to stab you) was enough to make all members of team Trick Trick start crying and spilling every possible secret they ever had. Of course, Mamoru also remembers the disdain and revulsion with which Ibuki mentioned the name ‘Trick Trick’, and there is an upsetting and dangerous possibility that the situation probably went a little more… extreme. Mamoru _almost_ felt bad for them.

Or rather, he would have almost felt bad for them, if the other thought hadn’t finally sunk down.

Chrono Shindou… hadn’t hit anyone.

“… _What?_ ”

Something about his disbelief was clearly funny, because Ibuki stated exactly what Mamoru was thinking with no shame or guilt in sight, “Chrono Shindou lost all his fighter points for basically nothing.”

His jaw was open now. It was… it was the tone. It was the _way_ , the _direction_ that comment was going that might have popped something in Mamoru’s brain. Ibuki just said it as if he was talking about… the weather. Or the score of the latest football match. As if he hadn’t completely fucked over not only Chrono’s plans for the month, but also Tokoha and their other friend Kiba.

As if Chrono Shindou hadn’t almost quit.

“… since when have you known this?” Mamoru was trying to calm down his breathing, which seemed to be working, instead of the other thought he was having this whole time, which was to honestly punch Ibuki in the face. He’s not sure how Ibuki would react to physical violence, and he’s not mad enough to attempt to test it, but the idea is still very tempting at this point.

“It was admittedly after I had already made the decision,” which nicely enough debunks any possible suspicions Mamoru might have had that Ibuki had honestly just taken away all of Chrono’s points just to be a dick. “I wasn’t satisfied with the information I had, so I went and made sure of some things myself.”

What Mamoru got from all of this was that, not surprisingly, Kouji Ibuki thinks very little of the competency of his staff. This is an incredibly sad thought, since Mamoru himself happened to be friends with many of said staff members. However, considering they didn’t find anything suspicious about the name “Trick Trick,” _allowed_ said team to cheat right in front of their noses, were clearly not paying enough attention to stop a verbal fight, and then actually made accusations without having all the facts, Mamoru isn’t really up to defending them.

He’s up for defending Chrono though, and the fact that Ibuki hasn’t explained himself hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“But… all this time…” calm down Mamoru, yelling doesn’t do anything for anyone, “Chrono Shindou has been working like an animal to reach back what he had lost! Why didn’t you return him his points?!”

Ah welp. He’s yelling. Can’t take it back now, obviously, or Ibuki might find it a criminal offense. Of course, Mamoru doesn’t want to take it back anyway, even if he personally believes that yelling is immature and stupid. But he can’t help it, he really _can’t._

Mamoru had _seen_ it. He was witness to the sweat, blood, and tears Chrono had to shed for the sake of getting enough points for the tournament (ok. Maybe not the blood and tears). He saw all the tests he took, all the tournaments he had to win. Neither of those three kids looked like they had much sleep during that week. Kamui wouldn’t stop talking about how tired Chrono looked, and how he rarely saw him stay still. Kamui wouldn’t stop worrying, period, and by this time all of his texts began with phrases like _“Chrono ran into a wall today…”_ or _“Can you believe he hasn’t eaten lunch!?”_  The mother Henning must have been contagious, because sooner rather than later Mamoru himself had started constantly asking Tokoha about Chrono to make sure that kid was still _alive_.

Mamoru is past the point of pretending that the other day’s activity didn’t have anything to do with getting Chrono back his points.

Clearly, Ibuki didn’t share Mamoru’s sentiments regarding Chrono. In a way, that was completely understandable. As far as Mamoru knows, Ibuki has no idea who Chrono is, and thus has absolutely no fucks to give regarding whatever it is Chrono does with his life outside of United Sanctuary matters. On the other hand, it didn’t make sense at all. Ibuki _shouldn’t_ care about what Chrono does or doesn’t do. He would have let the matter be and simply taken Chrono’s points away and left it at that, he wouldn’t have investigated (no matter how low Ibuki seems to look at everyone, he’s not so petty as to doubt their every action) and then go out and talk to Mamoru about it. Mamoru is starting to suspect that maybe Ibuki is just pretending like he doesn’t know who Chrono is. After all, he did go see his fight with Jaime Alcaraz, despite the short notice and how Kamui’s advertisements were more about how “new but good” Chrono was and less about his “mysterious new deck.”

Or maybe Mamoru just hasn’t asked.

Mamoru’s random (and hopefully last) spout of yelling did about as good as every other non-peaceful action Mamoru has done today, which means that Ibuki is pretty much trying to hold his laughter. “I do not reward people for not speaking up for themselves,” oh great, he said with a sneer too. Mamoru is _this close_ to punching him. God. Calm down Mamoru, don’t rise to the bait. You’re a twig and also really, really bad at punching. “Had he ever made any move to imply that he didn’t actually hit that boy? That there was a misunderstanding at some point?”

Thankfully his mocking tone died down and he seems to have gotten back to serious. Good, this means that he actually _is_ taking Chrono’s situation seriously, and didn’t just make his life a little harder because he was bored. He continued, “besides, he truly should have called a referee instead of handling the problem himself and yelling so much, look at where that got him.”

That… was a good point. Mamoru can’t fault that logic. Or rather, he can, because it sounds like Ibuki had greatly punished Chrono for a very shitty reason, but Mamoru knows that Ibuki’s essence relies on people being upfront and true with him. He doesn’t want to deal with vague motions and hidden feelings, he likes clear and well-timed answers (which is ironic, or maybe hypocritical, considering how often Ibuki avoids answering anything worthwhile until the very last minute). Mamoru has yet to find out the whole story behind this (and he _knows_ there is a story), but from Mamoru’s understanding, Ibuki hates the notion of misunderstandings due to miscommunication.

“Even so…” Mamoru’s words are pretty much just to prolong the topic at this point, “at least lessen the punishment! Degrade him to grade 2, or delete the points he had gathered on the tournament up to that point.” Also a good point. Mamoru wasn’t as angry anymore, but he was still a little displeased. If Chrono really _had_ shoved that kid, and truly had caused such trouble for the other fighters even though it was an accident, Mamoru wouldn’t mind. He honestly thought that Ibuki wasn’t in the wrong before and that Chrono and his friends having to work so hard to make up for Chrono’s impulsive love for vanguard was a fair development. But taking off _all_ his points, and then leaving it as is despite finding out there was yet another truth they hadn’t known?

It’s just. _Why_. Mamoru _likes_ Chrono. He’s far too serious and a little too impulsive, yeah, but he’s also freakishly adorable, and whenever he gets excited he has this look on his face, like he believes in Santa. A kid like that deserves everything to go right for him, forever. There should be a law against people causing trouble for him. Chrono is not just _a_ cinnamon roll, he is _the_ cinnamon roll. His hair proves it. Not to mention, ever since Tokoha and him had gotten closer, Tokoha had changed. She’s more determined, or sure of herself. It was an attitude that Mamoru didn’t know was missing within her.

“You get really… riled up, for that child, don’t you?” There it is again, that sudden shift in tone that manages to convey so many different messages. Mamoru really wants to know how he does it, being able to say so much with just a few words and a change in tone.

This time, it was ‘ _child_ ’. When he first said it, Mamoru thought he heard… something. Something like jealousy, but quickly dismissed the thought. Upon a second or two of thinking, he then noticed that there was a level of condescension that normally people _do_ expect out of Ibuki, but after getting to know him realize his pride is well deserved and limited to his achievements. It was odd to hear him so high and mighty, as if Mamoru associating with Chrono was beneath him.

Or… maybe not? It _certainly_ sounded like Kouji Ibuki knew exactly who Chrono Shindou was, in any case, and it most definitely sounded like his opinion of him ended with Ibuki proclaiming himself the better person.  This was another story, another one that Mamoru doubts he’ll get with the people he associates with.

He’s going to have to ask Chrono.

“I... I’m only getting like this because I feel like your actions are unfair,” he says a little sheepishly. A little. Mamoru is certainly not blushing a bit behind his ears, and he’s not playing with his hair in an attempt to hide them.

Darn it, he’s not mad anymore.

“Don’t feel the need to explain yourself to me, Mamoru Anjou,” Ibuki says, now with a much more playful and less asshole-ish smirk on his face. Mamoru might even call it a smile. He also says his name in a _very_ nice way, why doesn’t he say his name more often? Shaking his head with a sigh, smile still on his face, Ibuki changes his view of this entire conversation with “I am not that ungenerous a person.”

Mamoru blinks once, and then does it twice for good measure. Did he hear right? Does he have to check his ears?

He could swear that Ibuki just implied that Mamoru was in some sort of intimate position with Chrono, like. A relationship or something. Or maybe he’s accusing Mamoru of having a crush on Chrono which was… ok it wasn’t _unfounded_ but it was definitely out of left field considering Chrono _was a middle schooler and his sister’s friend_. If Mamoru were to even attempt to think about _maybe_ wanting something with Chrono, Mamoru would slap himself on the face. He’s sure of it. Maybe. At the very least, he’ll make sure nothing about this falls on Kamui’s ears, who is sure to murder him.

God. God. He’s second-guessing himself now. This is ridiculous he doesn’t have a crush on a _middle schooler_ that is just. That is just completely insane what the heck does Kouji think is going on with Mamoru’s life!? Think of something else Mamoru, think of something else before you accidentally give out signs that Ibuki has any idea what in the world he’s insinuating about.

The something else ends up being the other thing he was insinuating. Not ungenerous. _Not ungenerous_.

 _Oh my god_.

“So.. so you won’t deny that you’re far too… strict?” All this fumbling and trying not to stutter is taking a whole lot on Mamoru. Thankfully, shy and stutter-y Mamoru was just as entertaining to watch as angry Mamoru, apparently, because Ibuki continues to look like he’s having a blast. Which was completely unfair and probably against the rules or something, because this was all Ibuki’s fault.

He can’t believe Ibuki first insinuates that Mamoru wants something with Chrono, and then says that he doesn’t _mind sharing_. What the actual hell. Is this really Mamoru’s life right now?

To make matters worse Mamoru is _happy_ about it, because a smile just pops op on his face with no warning, and doesn’t want to get out. This is totally giving Ibuki the wrong message, he knows it, but too much of him doesn’t care. Ibuki doesn’t mind sharing.

“I only hold out my hand as far as people are willing to reach it.” That line was supposed to be a metaphor for how Ibuki makes people work hard for his rewards, or whatever, but all he can think about is how literal Ibuki practices that concept. The day Mamoru actually sees Ibuki _reach out_ for something instead of slightly holding out his hand waiting for someone to place that something on it is the day Mamoru stops playing Kagero.

“You really should learn to humble yourself a little, it can put people off.” Not Mamoru though, because apparently Mamoru is _all about_ people bossing him around. He needs better taste in people.

“Well then maybe the dragon empire should learn how to act for self-gain.”

After that particular quote, Ibuki leans back on the chair; an arm supporting his head at what seems like to Mamoru an extremely provocative angle, for his neck is on full view, not a hair or clothing obscuring his pale collar bone.

The meaning hits him like 3 critical triggers on a row. It’s an invitation. Ibuki Kouji is practically challenging Mamoru to go ahead, take what you want; the person you’ve been admiring for the past few months is lying bare before you.

What frustrates Mamoru about this action the most isn’t the fact that Ibuki is once again daring him to act on his own, forcing him to make the first move. No, it’s the fact that just a few days ago Ibuki did _this exact same pose_ and Mamoru thought nothing of it, only that he found it captivating, as all of Ibuki’s actions are. Of all the skills that Mamoru ever thought he’d learn, knowing how to understand “douchebag” was not one of them.

 _Alright. If a challenge is what he wants, a challenge is what he’ll get_.

Deciding to take a page out of Ibuki’s own book, Mamoru slowly walks towards him. He stops at a reasonable distance, which in this situation translates to him leaning over Ibuki, Mamoru’s hands resting on Ibuki’s own arm rests, and their noses about a couple of inches apart. Yes. Reasonable. “What would you suggest I do, then?”

Instead of answering him immediately Ibuki repositions himself, with the sway and grace of a man who wasn’t technically cornered into his own chair. The action ends with his head _much_ closer than it was before, their lips centimeters apart, and his red eyes boring into Mamoru’s.

“Don’t get cold feet with me, Mamoru Anjou,” the way he says his name is so unfair. So unfair. “I don’t let go easy.”

At that, Mamoru noticed the odd increase of weight in his neck. Oh, so Ibuki had grabbed his bolo tie and Mamoru hadn’t noticed. _Well then_.

Honestly, Mamoru doesn’t really _know_ how he gets himself in these situations. Well, ok, so he’s fully aware of how he got into this specific one, but he’s not entirely sure why he’s been so set on Ibuki. After all, he’s had plenty of crushes before, all on people of questionable… quality, and Mamoru is usually smart enough to stay away from such people even though they are usually the most interesting thing around.

Ibuki though, Ibuki is… he’s more than just “questionable.” Mamoru sees it in the way he does… anything. That there’s a complex history between him and many people in the vanguard aristocracy (a term that Kamui loves to say to refer to himself and many of his friends. God what a humble kid), that there’s complexity between him and _vanguard_ (does he love it? Does he not?). The way he strides, the way he talks. Almost everything about Ibuki either spells _suspicious_ , _psychopath_ , or _complete fucking weirdo_ , and no matter what conclusions Mamoru comes up with, he can never just leave him alone.

Although, to Mamoru’s credit, when he first met Ibuki his first thought hadn’t been that he was _beautiful_ and _captivating_ and that he’d like to invite him to his apartment. Honestly, it had been that Ibuki looked like he needed a hug. That didn’t necessarily mean he looked like a miserable fellow (the opposite, actually), but that there was something lonely about him, like maybe he doesn’t see his friends often, or that he hadn’t had a vacation in a while, who knows. And although that look has long since disappeared from Ibuki (perhaps he found what he was looking for) even right now, to this moment, Mamoru still believes in that sentiment, except that over time the hugs seemed to include kisses. And full makeout sessions, occasionally.

A few seconds later, almost a minute probably, and Ibuki still hasn’t moved an inch. It’s pretty impressive, considering how close they are, you’d think he’d get a _little_ farther, or a _little_ closer, but neither of those happen. He really was not kidding when he said he wasn’t going to reach out.

With a sigh (or maybe he was just exhaling a breath he didn’t know he was holding), Mamoru just does what Ibuki was waiting for him to do, and closes the distance between their lips.

Well. Let’s call the day a success.

**Author's Note:**

> Can you tell I was inspired by Metisket when I wrote this fic? LOL!


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